Water closet flushing mechanism



3 Sheets-Sheet l INVHVTOR. 41. 704/ M 570F544 Jan. 25, 1955 A. w. STURMAN WATER CLOSET FLUSHING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 4, 1952 .Jan. 25, 1955 A. w. STURMAN WATER CLOSET FLUSI-IING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 4, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIE 7 INVENTOR. 44 701V 11/ .Smmmw flrromvsys M: mu ymu nwnm United States Patent WATER CLOSET FLUSHIN G MECHANISM Alton W. Sturman, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application August 4, 1952, Serial No. 302,547

7 Claims. (Cl. 4-49) This invention relates to improvements in flushing mechanisms for water closets and the primary object is to provide a siphonic flushing system which will do away completely with the rubber ball valve now so commonly used, and eliminate all of the attendant troubles thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flushing mechanism in which a very simple and readily sealed ball check valve is used for controlling both the flow of water from tank to bowl and the refilling of the tank and with provision for adequate trapping against. any reverse flow of contaminated water into the water system.

A further object is to provide a simple, inexpensive and completely trouble-free flushing system which overcomes all of the problems of present day systems.

These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a plan view of the tank and adjacent bowl of a water closet with a flushing system according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the water tank and the outlet thereof.

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged detail sectional views along the lines 33 and 44, respectively, in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view through one type of bowl, with which my flushing system may be used, and illustrating the output of the water tank.

Fig. 6 is a similar sectional view of another style of bowl and showing an outside trap located between the tank and the bowl inlet.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the control valve assembly forming a vital part of my flushing mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section along the line 8-8 in Fig. 7.

Figs. 9 and 10 are vertical sectional views on an enlarged scale and looking in opposite directions along the lines 99 and 1010 in Fig. 7.

Figs. 11 and 12 are perspective views of the two rotors forming part of the control valve mechanism.

Referring now more particularly and by reference characters to the drawing, my improved flushing mechanism, or system, is arranged in the usual upright water tank, designated generally at 15, having a bottom 16 and rectangular, upwardly extending walls, indicated throughout at 17 and containing water up to the level 18. At its center the bottom 16 of the water tank is provided with a seal fitting or gland assembly 19 of any conventional construction, in and through which is mounted one vertical leg 20 of an inverted U-shaped siphon tube having an upwardly disposed bight 21 and an intake leg 22 which extends downwardly, parallel with the leg 20, but terminates short of the bottom 16 of the tank in an enlarged, bell-mouthed intake 23. The tank 15 contains water up to the level 18 aforesaid which isbelow the bight 21 of the siphon tube, and the leg 22 thereof will normally stand full of water up to this level 18 and air will be present in the upper part of the bight 21 and in leg 22 above water level 28 in the trap 24 or 24a. In the arrangement first to be described the lower end of the leg 26 of the siphon tube, after passing downward through the fitting 19, is formed with a trap 24 having a forwardly extending outlet 25 which enters the input leg 26 of a conventional bowl of the so-called washdown variety, indicated generally at 27. The trap 24 will stand full of water up to the level 28 and a baffle 29 extends downwardly into this water level to isolate the input and output portions thereof, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. Water also stands to the level 30 in the bowl 27 and it ice will thus be observed that between flushing operations the tank 15 is full of water as is the siphon tubes leg 22, but because there can be no siphonic action while air is trapped in the bight 21 and leg 20 of the tube water will not flow into the trap 24 and into the bowl.

Siphonic action is induced to cause the water in the tank 15 to rush into the bowl, and the tank is then refilled, by a manually controlled valve mechanism, designated generally at 31, located to one side of the tank above the water level 18. An inlet pipe 32 extends upwardly through a fitting 33 in the bottom 16 of the tank and leads, of course, to the water system through which water under city pressure is supplied for operation. At the upper end the pipe 32 supports the aforesaid valve mechanism 31 and referring particularly to Fig. 7 it will be noted that the pipe 32 is received at its upper end 32 in a coupling sleeve 34 wherein it is tightly held by a retainer cap 35 threaded on the sleeve. The upper end of the sleeve 34 is diametrically enlarged, forming an inlet valve chamber 36, and is externally threaded at 37 to accommodate the lower, tapped neck 38 of a valve housing 39. The upper end 32 of the pipe opens into the chamber 36 and located in this chamber is a ball check valve 40 biased in an upward direction by an expansion coil spring 41 braced against the underside of the ball. Held in place between the upper end of the sleeve 34 and an annular shoulder 42, formed within the neck 38, is a valve seat 43 of cage-like formation having spokes 44 which support a diametrically reduced and upwardly extending tubular guide 45, and these spokes define intervening, vertical passageways 46 through which water may flow in an upward direction past the said guide. The passageways 46 communicate at lower ends with a circular recess 47 of smaller diameter than the ball 40 and the ball is normally seated against the margin 48 of this recess by the spring 41 and by the upward pressure of the water on the ball, so that water cannot flow upward beyond the ball, as will be readily understood.

The valve ball 40 is thrust downwardly away from its seat, for permitting controlled water flow, by means of a vertically reciprocatable actuating or valve stem 49 slidable in the guide 45 and extending at its upper end into a cylindrical recess 50 formed in the upper part of the valve housing. 39. On the horizontal axis of this cylindrical recess 50 there is formed at one side, and at what may be referred to as at the rear of the assembly, a bearing 51 and a similar bearing 52 is formed at the forward side as a part of a plug 53 threaded at 54 into the housing 39. Cooperating valve rotors 55 and 56 are rotatably mounted in the chamber 50 and the forward or manually controlled rotor 55 has a shaft 57, which extends out through the bearing 52 and through the front wall of the water tank 15, at the outside of which this shaft is fitted with the usual operating handle 58. The rear or float controlled rotor 56 has a similar shaft 59 extending rearwardly through the bearing 51 and rearwardly thereof provided with a diametrical bore 60 in which may be fastened the carrier rod 61 of the usual hollow float 62, as by means of a set screw shown at 63 in Fig. 7. It will thus be observed that the rotor 55 may be rotated, or oscillated, by means of the handle 58, while the other rotor 56 may be similarly moved by the leverage exerted thereon by the float 62 as the same swings upward and downward according to variations in the water content of the tank. The rotors 55 and 56 are not connected to each other although, as will later appear, there is a time during their operation at which the float controlled rotor 56 positions the other.

On the side of the upper part of the valve housing 39 facing the center of the tank 15, there are three tubular outlets, designated from top to bottom at 64, 65 and 66, respectively. As seen in Figs. 9 and 10 to best advantage these outlets have bores communicating through ports 67, 68 and 69 with the interior of the cylindrical chamber 50, and at opposite ends the outlets are threaded to receive fittings, indicated collectively at 70, of a conventional type for the connection of tubes to said outlets. The uppermost outlet 64 is connected with a siphon starting tube 71 which extends horizontally some distance and is angled in a forward direction to pass over the upper part of the siphon tube bight 21 and which then turns downwardly at 72, along the siphon tube leg 20, to a point adjacent the bottom 16 of the tank. It is important to note that this open lower end 73 of the tube 71 terminates at a level slightly above the level of the bell-mouth intake 23 of the tube for a purpose later to be described. The center outlet 65 and its port 68 is connected to a filler tube 74 extending downwardly toward the bottom 16 of the tank with its open lower end 75 at about the level of the intake 23 of the siphon tube. The lowermost outlet 66 and its port 69 communicate with a smaller diameter trap filling tube 76 extending angularly downward, alongside the siphon tube leg 20, and turned inwardly through the wall thereof at 77 to communicate at its end 78 with the interior of said leg.

The horizontal portion of the siphon starting tube 71, where it passes over the apex of the bight 21 of the siphon tube, has a vertical air tube or branch 79 communicating with the upper part of the bight 21. As seen in Fig. 3 this starting tube 71, between the outlet 64 and the air tube 79, is also fitted with a small disk 80 having a reduced orifice 81 through which the water will flow in the direction of the arrow. The purpose is to cause the tubes 71-79 to act after the fashion of a liquid piston pump or aspirator, and the reduced orifice 81 increases the velocity and reduces the pressure of the water below atmospheric as it flows past the open end of the air tube 79, drawing air upwardly and exhausting the trapped air in the bight 21 and the leg 20 of the siphon tube, as will be obvious. In a similar fashion the filler tube 74, at its horizontal portion above the water level of the tank, is fitted interiorly with another disk 82 having a reduced orifice 83 and on the downstream side of the disk 82 the wall of the tube 74 is provided with a plurality of small openings 84. In normal operation, with water flowing in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4 when the tank is being filled, the increased velocity of the water as it passes through the orifice 83 will cause it to pass the openings 84 without escaping. Reverse flow of water, however, is prevented under all conditions which might permit water to return to the water system because the openings 84, being now siphon tube whereupon the water in the tank will siphon out rapidly, passing through the trap 24 and into the bowl 27, to flush the bowl as will be understood.

As the water level drops in the tank 15 the float 62 will descend and will turn the rotor 56 in a clockwise direction as viewed from the front. The rim 87 of this rotor 56 is also provided with a cam, indicated at 95, and shown to best advantage in Fig. 10. This cam 95 upon such rotation of the rotor 56 will move over the upper end of the depressed valve stem 49, as indicated in the dotted lines 95a in Fig. 10, until the motion is halted by engagement of a stop lug 96 with the stem. Thus the float acts to hold the valve stem 49 in the depressed position in order to keep the valve 48 open while water is flowing into and out of the tank.

While the siphonic action takes place, and the water flows out of the tank, water also will flow through the filler pipe 74 and immediately as the water falls to the level of the lower end 73 of the starting tube 71 permitting air to enter the tube and flow back into the bight 21 and legs -22 of the siphon tube breaking the siphonic action, and the tank will begin to fill, bringing the flushing cycle to an end. Prior to this time also an actuating lug 97, which extends from the notch 88 upon the rotor 56 into the corresponding notch in the rotor 55, has engaged the edge of the latter notch as the float 62 approaches its lower level and this lug 97 has I reversely or back-rotated the rotor 55 to its starting position at which the port 89 is moved out of communication with the upper outlet port 67 back into registry with the outlet port 68. This action will thus automatically shut ofi the flow through the starting tube 71, after the siphonic action has been started, so that air may flow back through the starting tube as the water on what is the upstream side under these conditions, will cause the pipe 74 simply to suck air and will permit no water to pass into the valve 31, as would be necessary for it to return to the water system. l

The rotors 5556 are substantially identical in configuration, each having an end designated 'at 85 and an annular rim indicated at 86 for the rotor 55 and 87 for the rotor 56. The edges of the rims 8687 operate in edge contact with each other and to clear the guide 45 and stem 49 the rims are provided with notches, designated for both at 88. The rim 86 of the manually operated rotor 55 has spaced ports 89 and 90 which are connected by a narrow slot 91 and the angle between the openings 89 and 90 is the same as that between the upper and lower outlets 64 and 66. In the normal or shut-off position of the rotor 55 the port 89 communicates with the center port 68, while the slot 91 communicates with the lower port 69 and there is no communication between the uppermost port 67 and the interior of this valve assembly. Also in the normal position the upper end of the aforesaid actuating stem 49 just clears the inner surfaces of the rims 8687, at their meeting edges, under the influence of the spring 41. The rotor 55 is provided with a cam 92 in alignment with the stem 49, as shown in Fig. 9 having a sloping leading end 93 so that as the rotor is turned by the handle 58, in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the front, this cam 92 will ride over the upper end of the valve stem 49 and force the same in a downward direction to unseat the ball 40, as shown in Figs. 7 and 9. The motion of the rotor 55 in this direction is limited by the contact of a stop lug 94 at the trailing end of the cam 92 with the upper end of the stem 49. When the rotor 55 is moved to this position the port 89 will move into registry with outlet port 67, as seen in Fig. 9, while the port 90 will register with the outlet port 69 and the slot 91 will register with the center port 68, also as seen in Fig. 9. The valve 40 now being open, the water will rush up through the interior of the rotors and out through the ports 89-67 into the siphon startmg tube 71 and, as it passes through the reduced orifice 81, will suck the air out of the bight and leg 20 of the level drops below its water level 73 for bringing the siphonic action to an immediate halt as stated. As rotor is back-rotated to its starting position in this manner its cam 92 clears the upper end of the valve stem 49, but the valve 40 remains open because the cam on the other rotor 56 has moved over the stem as previously described.

With the valve mechanism 31 in this condition water will continue to flow through the filler pipe 74 until the water level 18 is restored and will also flow through the smaller pipe 76 into the leg 20 of the siphon tube because the ports 89-68 and the slot 91 and port 69 remain in registry. As the float 62 rises with the rising water level and reaches its normal upper position, it will in turn back-rotate the rotor 56 and at the proper point the cam 95 will be moved ofi the upper end of this valve stem 49, whereupon the valve 40 will immediately return to its seat 48 and shutoff any further water flow, entirely automatically. -It will thus be observed that the valve 40 is the only valve requiring sealing and since it is of the ball check variety this offers no problem whatever. Because no water can flow past or around any part of the valve rotor 5556, so long as the valve ball 40 remains closed, elaborate, expensive and troublesome seals in this part are not at all necessary. The advantages from the manufacturing and upkeep standpoint are so obvious as to require no further description herein.

The function of the small tube 76 is to maintain the trap 24 in a filled condition and to fill the same, should it stand idle over long periods of time and water therein be depleted by evaporation.

In Fig. 5 there is shown a modified and popular version of bowl, indicated generally at 27**, having an internal trap 24 For use in conjunction with such bowl the leg 20 of the siphon tube will simply depend directly down through the customary opening 98 in the upper rear portion of the bowl and into the trap 24 in which a level of water is maintained by the customary dam 99. I prefer to provide the dam 99 with a small opening 100 through which some water may escape from the trap in order to lower the level thereof and prevent damage from freezing. I i

It will beapparent from the foregoing that I have provided a simple and practical form of flushing mechanism, doing away entirely with the present troublesome rubber ball valve, and have provided a valve mechanism offering no problems from the sealing or leakage standpoint whatsoever. It may or may not be desirable to provide a shield or. hood over the upper part of the valve mechanism 41, so that any water that may escape therefrom, when the valve 40 is open, will be prevented from striking the top of the tank 15 and possibly escaping.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. For a water closet system having a bowl and a tank containing a level of flushing water, a flushing mechanism of the character described comprising an inverted U- shaped siphon tube having an air trapping bight above the water level in the tank and having two legs, one of the legs having an intake near the bottom of the tank and the other leg being connected to the bowl, a trap between the latter leg and the bowl, a water inlet pipe extending upwardly in the tank, a check ball controlling flow of water from the pipe into the tank, valve mechanism for operating said check ball consisting of a housing having a guide and a cylindrical recess and a plurality of ports into the recess, a valve stem slidable in the guide and engaging the check ball, a pair of valve rotors rotatable in the valve recess and each having a cam for engaging said stem to unseat the ball, means for manually positioning one of said rotors and this rotor having openings for registration with the ports in the housing, a float connected to rotate the other rotor and this rotor having means for back rotating the manually positioned rotor as the water level in the tank falls, and separate tubes leading from said ports in the housing and operative to start siphonic action through the siphon tube and to refill the tank.

2. For a water closet system having a bowl and a tank containing a level of flushing water, a flushing mechanism of the character described comprising an inverted U-shaped siphon tube having an air trapping bight above the water level in the tank and having two legs, one of the legs having an intake near the bottom of the tank and the other leg being connected to the bowl, a trap between the latter leg and the bowl, a water inlet pipe extending upwardly in the tank, a check ball controlling flow of water from the pipe into the tank, valve mechanism for operating said check ball consisting of a housing having a guide and a cylindrical recess and a plurality of ports into the recess, a valve stem slidable in the guide and engaging the check ball, a pair of valve rotors rotatable in the valve recess and each having a cam for engaging said stem to unseat the ball, means for manually positioning one of said rotors and this rotor having openings for registration with the ports in the housing, a float connected to rotate the other rotor and this rotor having means for back rotating the manually positioned rotor as the water level in the tank falls, and three separate tubes leading from the ports in the housing and operative for respectively releasing the trapped air in the siphon tube, to refill the tank and to fill the trap between the siphon tube and the bowl.

3. For a water closet system having a bowl and a tank containing a level of flushing water, a flushing mechanism of the character described comprising an inverted U- shaped siphon tube having an air trapping bight above the water level in the tank and having two legs, one of the legs having an intake near the bottom of the tank and the other leg being connected to the bowl, a trap between the latter leg and the bowl, a water inlet pipe extending upwardly in the tank, a check ball controlling flow of water from the pipe into the tank, valve mechanism for operating said check ball consisting of a housing having a guide and a cylindrical recess and a plurality of ports into the recess, a valve stem slidable in the guide and engaging the check ball, a pair of valve rotors rotatable in the valve recess and each having a cam for engaging said stem to unseat the ball, means for manually positioning one of said rotors and this rotor having openings for registration with the ports in the housing, a float connected to rotate the other rotor and this rotor having means for back rotating the manually positioned rotor as the water level in the tank falls, and three separate tubes leading from the ports in the housing and operative for respectively releasing the trapped air in the siphon tube, to refill the tank and to fill the trap between the siphon tube and the bowl, the tube for refilling the tank having means forming a restricted orifice and having small openings in its wall on the downstream side of said orifice whereby water cannot return through this tube to the water inlet pipe.

4. Valve mechanism for a siphonic flushing system of the character described and for supplying water from a water inlet pipe to a water tank, comprising a valve housing having a valve chamber and a cylindrical recess communicating with each other and with the pipe, a self sealing spring biased ball check valve in the chamber normally sealing against the flow of water into the recess, a slidable valve stem for unseating the ball valve, a pair of rotors rotatably mounted in the recess and each having a cam for moving the stem to unseat the ball valve, unsealed bearings in the housing and the rotors having oppositely extending shafts extending out through the bearings, a handle connected to one shaft for manually actuating the associated rotor, a float connected to the other shaft for actuating the other rotor, and means controlled by the positioning of the rotors for supplying water to induce a siphonic flushing action and for refilling the tank.

5. Valve mechanism for a siphonic flushing system of the character described and for supplying water from a water inlet pipe to a water tank, comprising a valve housing having a valve chamber and a cylindrical recess communicating with each other and with the pipe, a self sealing spring biased ball check valve in the chamber normally sealing against the flow of water into the recess, a slidable valve stem for unseating the ball valve, a pair of rotors rotatably mounted in the recess and each having a cam for moving the stem to unseat the ball valve, unsealed bearings in the housing and the rotors having oppositely extending shafts extending out through the bearings, a handle connected to one shaft for manually actuating the associated rotor, a float connected to the other shaft for actuating the other rotor, the manually actuated rotor having openings and the housing having ports for selective registry with the openings, separate tubes leading from the said ports for inducing a siphonic flushing action and for refilling the tank, and the rotor actuated by the float having means for back rotating the other rotor after the siphonic action is completed.

6. For a water closet flushing mechanism operated by water from a water supply pipe and having a siphon, a water tank, a valve mechanism for supplying water to start the siphon and to refill the tank which valve comprises a valve seat and a check valve ball normally closing ofi water flow in the supply pipe, a valve housing having ports and means connecting said ports to the siphon and to the interior of the tank, separate cam rotors journaled in the valve housing, a single means selectively operated by said cam rotors to unseat the check valve ball and permit water to flow through said ports, manually operative means connected to operate one of said rotors, and a float connected to operate the other of said rotors.

7. For a water closet system having a bowl and a tank containing a level of flushing water, a flushing mechanism of the character described comprising a siphon tube having an air trapping space above the water level in the tank, a water trap between the siphon tube and the bowl, a water inlet pipe extending upwardly in the tank, a check ball controlling flow of water from the pipe into the tank, valve mechanism for operating said check ball consisting of a housing having a guide means, and a cylindrical recess and a plurality of ports into the recess, a valve operating member movable in said guide means and engaging the ball, a pair of valve rotors rotatable in the valve recess and each having a cam for engaging said valve operating member to unseat the ball, means for manually positioning one of said rotors and this rotor having openings for registration with the ports in the housing, a float connected to rotate the other rotor and this rotor having means for back rotating the manually positioned rotor as the water level in the tank varies, and separate tubes leading from said ports and operative to start sipilrzonic action through the system and then to refill the tan References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 670,818 Smith Mar. 26, 1901 1,185,474 Burke May 30, 1916 1,299,692 Donnelly Apr. 8, 1919 1,604,759 Richards Oct. 26, 1926 1,796,443 Da Costa Mar. 17, 1931 2,274,969 Ostendorf Mar. 3, 1942 2,320,132 Hoffmann May 25, 1943 

